I know the rains have just started, but in California and other arid locations, droughts are always in the future. We consistently need to plan our water usage, conserving wherever it is convenient and continuing to be frugal with its use.

According to statistics, about 30 percent of all water used by an average household is devoted to outdoor uses. Even more painful is the stat that about 50 percent of all outdoor water goes to waste through evaporation and improper system design.

An easy way to cut down on this waste is lower the requirement of the number 1 water user in the yard, the lawn.

The Turfgrass Water Conservation Alliance (TFCA) is trying to reduce domestic water use by identifying new water-sipping, drought-tolerant grass. So far the organization has been able to produce and test several types of Bermuda grasses that retain 70 percent of their green color after two months in summer temperatures without irrigation.

The research has also shown that this new variety of drought-tolerant Kentucky blue grasses could save up to 10,000 gallons of water over a single growing season as compared to some heat-tolerant varieties.

While this research is still young, it is very promising and may be something we want to look at for our future yards.